Someone Like You

Chapter 16

"I'm - I'm moving."
"You're moving? As in: moving back with the boys?" I asked.
"Heh, no," he answered. "I'm..." I raised my eye brows, tilted my head a bit, and looked at him. "I'm going back to Minnesota," he finally said.
"What?" I said immediately.
"I'm moving back to Minnesota... To my family," he told me.
"No, no, no, Connor, you're not!" I said quickly.
"I am," he answered.
"No, you can't," I said. He nodded. "No," I said tearing up. "No," I cried.
"Yeah," he cried with me, trying to hold it by smiling. I shook my head, trying to catch my breath.
"No! Why?" I asked.
"I keep on hurting you, Bethany! I am constantly hurting you and it kills me! I can't keep on doing this to you; I'm no good! I could've gone home a long time ago, back when I quit O2L, but I didn't, because I wanted to stay with you, but now what's the point? If we can't be together, I will always hurt you, because I'm trying to distract myself and not think about you, but I can't! I always see you, and that's not helping... At all; it's making it worse. Every time I try to forget you, I hurt you. Because really, all I want is for you to be happy, and for us to be together, but you don't, and it burns me," he explained, breathless.
"But - but I was wrong! We can - we can be together; we have to," I told him.
"I'm leaving as soon as possible," he said turning away.
"No! Connor, wait!" I yelled. "I would do anything! Anything in the world, if you just stay. I want you to stay," I begged. I ran to catch up with him and stood in front of him. I put my hands on his red face. "At least tell me when."
"I told you; as soon as possible," he answered.
"But, you're coming tomorrow, right?"
"I don't know..." He said.
"This is not goodbye, Con; tell me you're coming tomorrow... Please," I told him. I leaned in and kissed him. "I love you... Please don't go," I whispered into his ear. He ignored me and left, without saying a word. "Connor," I said for the last time. I saw him grab his neck and rub the back of his head while he walked away. Is he really doing this? Is he really walking away, right now? I thought to myself.
I couldn't follow him; he was already gone. I rubbed my burning red, wet face, then went up to my hair. I started pulling my hair in rage and anger, then ran up to my room and looked out the window. I was balling my eyes out, sitting in front of my room's window, gazing at the children play hop scotch on the street facing my house. I was worse than ever, that day; even worse than when I ran away, seven months ago. I couldn't get him to stay; Connor is stubborn, and his mind doesn't change easily. I was dying, I couldn't keep my sadness in, and I cried for almost two hours straight.
It burned me to know that I will probably never see him again, but at least I knew he was going to Roxy's party, because he would never bail like that on a friend.